The present invention relates to the determination of an optical property of a device under test in dependence on a spectral parameter for specific polarization states of the incident light which are known as the “principal states of polarization” (PSPs). The invention concerns devices that are used or tested by applying light to the device. The optical property can characterize light that then emerges from the device or characterize another response of the device to the input light, such as an output electrical signal.
In the product note “PDL Measurements using the Agilent 8169A Polarization Controller” by Christian Hentschel and Siegmar Schmidt, it is described how the minimum and maximum insertion loss as well as the polarization dependent loss (PDL) can be obtained by means of the scrambling technique, and by means of the Mueller method that is based on a determination of the Mueller matrix of the device under test (DUT). The document “PDL Measurements using the Agilent 8169A Polarization Controller” is herewith incorporated into the description of the present application.